Spinoza

by Robert van de Weyer

Can we see divine unity in nature?
Can human emotions be interpreted as divine guidance?
A Jew living in Holland in the seventeenth century, Spinoza was expelled by the synagogue for his radical views on religion, and was later vilified by Christian leaders. He rejected orthodox theism but remained deeply religious and developed a philosophy both rational and mystical.

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1998

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In terms of presenting a philosophical view in a nutshell, this book does what it sets out to do. Gives a bit of background and then some of the main parts of Spinoza's essays. Good for cutting through to the main points and I will likely collect some of the others within this series. A lot of Spinoza's ideas I'm not overly sure about but the purpose of the book was not to convince me of them but to make them readable.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some value as a starter for reading a bit of Spinoza's work, but the selections here lend themselves to the nonsensical interpretation of Spinoza in the Romanticist and pantheistic way rather than a valuable insight into a modern interpretation of Spinoza through the lens of materialism. The introduction by Van de Weyer confirms this bias: he sees Spinoza as a philosopher-theologian who sought to create a new religion, very nonsensical.